No wonder people fall in love on reality shows

Friday night Warren and I took the girls to dinner at one of the nicer places in Suva, Daikoku.  It is one of those Japanese places that they cook the meal in front of you.  Overall, the food was really good and the children's behavior was ok.  Zoe was in a mood before we even walked in....which had me re-thinking our decision to take them to "this fun restaurant!!"   It turned out ok, but I cannot say I relaxed during the meal.  Some friends came over afterwards to play games which was far more relaxing.

After our friends left, Warren and I went to bed.   Of course, having small children in the house...you never know if you are going to sleep for the night...or if you will have visitors in the middle of the night.... crying from a nightmare, needing to pee, or just wanting a snuggle.   Not long after we went to bed, Andie came to our bed...scared.   About an hour later, Zoe joined as well  (It's been way too frequent lately that the whole Passin family is in one bed).   Andie and Zoe started arguing about who gets to lay next to me....so they start hitting each other and screaming at 2am.    From my very small space in the bed, I freaked out and yelled that everyone had to return to their own bed.   (By the way, Warren can sleep through anything..... he was just snoring away through it all.  I wish I had that gift!)  Andie had her own freak out and then musical beds began.  I laid with Zoe in her bed.  I laid with Andie in her bed. Zoe cried because I laid with Andie longer.   I finally gave up, stormed out of the room just wanting sleep and slowly each girl followed me back into our bed.  Eventually Warren woke up and moved to Andie's bed and I negotiated the girls taking turns sleeping next to me because I refuse to sleep in the middle where they both lay next to me like magnets. I've got to be able to have at least one half of me free while I sleep.   Obviously, it was a long restless night.

She is pretty cute while she is sleeping....wouldn't mind snuggling with her all night if only the two of us were sharing a bed!

Warren woke up early to go to scuba diving class and the girls and I stayed at home to pack for a night away at a local resort 45 minutes down the road.   To say it mildly, the girls were driving me insane.  Every thing they did was getting on my nerves.   They were fighting incessantly and whining non-stop.  Zoe was crying about EVERYTHING you can imagine and Andie was pouting every time something went slightly wrong.   For example, Zoe had a massive melt down because as I was packing our bag she asked who's stuff was in the bag.  I replied, "This bag is full of Mommy's, Daddy's, Andie's, and Zoe's stuff."  Screaming ensued.  "Why did you say my name last?  Why did you say Andie's name before mine?"  Then yet again, another massive melt down.   I was losing my mind.  I really didn't want to go anywhere with my family....I wanted to go somewhere alone and leave them behind.

Finally the time came and we went to pick up Warren from scuba.   I was grouchy the whole drive even though the kids were actually acting normal by this point.   We got to the Uprising in Pacific Harbour and it was like the tension melted away from me.  Warren handed me a drink and we slowly walked to our bure on the beach.  It was beautiful.    We all got changed and went out on the beach to build sand castles and play in the waves.   I thought back to how crazy my kids had been...but also how nuts I was too.   It was like the fresh air, the ocean breeze, the sound of the waves, and the scenery restored all of us.   We were like different people.  We took a long family walk down the beach as the sun set, having a blast trying to make special effects with the photographs I took.    Everyone was truly happy.

view from bure on the beach

view standing on beach of bure

After the sunset, the girls watched a show while Warren and I sat on our porch looking at the ocean, sharing wine, and catching up on life.   We heard some Indian music playing so we all went to check it out.  The girls had the best time dancing with the entertainment for the hotel.

In the end, the getaway for the night was exactly what we needed.   It's so easy to be happy when you are surrounded in natural beauty and away from all your daily stress.  It's no wonder people fall in love on reality shows, like the Bachelor.  You can truly be your best self in ideal circumstances.   The hope is you take some of that calmness back with you into your real life....so you have something to pull from next time you find  yourself in three different beds in one night.